TEK, local perceptions of risk, and diversity of management practices of Agave inaequidens in Michoacán, Mexico

Abstract

BackgroundMescal production is the main economic activity associated to agaves in Mexico, which involves 53 species mostly harvested from forests. The increasing mescal demand has influenced risk in both agave populations and mescal production, but other social and ecological factors also intervene. We hypothesized that the greater the risk the greater the complexity of management responses; otherwise, the greater the probability of populations’ depletion. We analysed this hypothesis by examining the diversity of risk conditions and management practices of Agave inaequidens in the state of Michoacán, in central-western Mexico.MethodsWe studied five communities of Michoacán, documenting through 41 semi-structured interviews the use forms, risk perception, number of agaves annually extracted, and the management practices. Using a matrix with social-ecological and technological data analyzed by PCA, we evaluated similarities of management contexts. A data matrix with information on risk of agave populations, and other about management practices were analysed also through CCA and PCA. The scores of the first principal components were considered as indexes of risk and management complexity, respectively. A regression analysis of these indexes evaluated their relation.ResultsWe recorded 34 different uses of A. inaequidens, the most important being mescal production (mentioned by 76.1 % of people interviewed). Nearly 12.5 % of people practice only gathering, but others mentioned the following practices: Selective let standing of agaves for seed production (20 %); in situ transplanting of saplings; seed propagation in nurseries and saplings transplanting to forest (10 %); suckers transplanting (7.5 %); seed dispersal in forests; banning (5 %); enhancing of agave growth by removing tree canopies (2.5 %); transplanting from the wild to live fences (45 %); intensive plantations (35 %). The highest vulnerability of agave populations was identified in communities where risk is not counteracted by management. In two communities we identified the highest risk (annual extraction from 4,353 to 6,557 agaves), but different actions counteracting such risk.ConclusionsInterchange of knowledge and management experiences developed by handlers is crucial for the regional conservation, recovering, and sustainable management of A. inaequidens populations.

Use and management of wild fauna by people of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley and surrounding areas, Mexico

“…Furthermore, actions are taken to reduce or prevent damages or losses that faunal elements may produce for subsistence systems or human health [26,27]. Ethnobotanical evidence supports the hypotheses that management practices are primarily directed to increase the availability of those resources under a high demand pressure due to their high value for use, especially when resources are relatively scarce [6,[28][29][30]. However, the reduction in the risk of extirpation of a given resource after management might not always be successful, causing the loss not only of a biotic resource but also of the social and cultural activities related to it [30].…”

The genus Agave in agroforestry systems of Mexico

“…A total of 16 use categories and 34 specific uses have been registered for this species of which the most important by order of mention is the making of mezcal, which has had a boom in the past 10 years (see Appendix 1). However, to a lesser extent it also has edible and medicinal uses, it is used as insulation and as condiment for making barbacoa, as veterinary medicine, for the extraction of aguamiel and pulque, as live fences, forage, construction material, fiber extraction, sale of juvenile agave, erosion control, as bait to attract deer for hunting, for ornamental uses, and as utensils (Torres-García et al 2015a).…”

“…These resources have been crucial for the life and development of societies within the Mexican territory (Colunga-GarcíaMarín et al 2007, Gentry 1982. Popularity of Agave spirits has increased in the last 30 years, both within national territory as well as abroad (Consejo Regulador del Mezcal 2015, Consejo Regulador del Tequila 2019, Delgado-Lemus et al 2014a, Delgado-Lemus et al 2014b, Torres-García et al 2013, Torres-García et al 2015a. The high demand of the tequila industry for raw materials has been characterized, among many socioenvironmental injustices, by the devastation of hundreds of thousands of original forests, mainly in five Mexican states, for establishing intensive monocultures of A. tequilana (Bowen & Zapata 2009, Herrera-Pérez et al 2017, Trejo-Salazar et al 2016, Valenzuela-Zapata & Macías-Macías 2014.…”

“…Agaves have in the Mexican territory the scenario with the highest species´ richness in the world, and also a wide distribution (García-Mendoza 2004). The majority of species fulfill multiple purposes, such as the satisfaction of primary and secondary needs, products directly consumed by households or exchanged by other products and constitute one of the main elements in the economy of families and communities of maguey managers (Delgado-Lemus et al 2014b, Torres-García et al 2015a, Torres-García et al 2015b. Nevertheless, there is a need for an in-depth analysis of the information available, as well as of the experience amassed regarding the relationship between agroforestry systems and the genus Agave in Mexico.…”

Genetic structure of coexisting wild and managed agave populations: implications for the evolution of plants under domestication

“…At present, it is used mainly for producing mescal and fibre. In Michoacán, this species is found in a gradient of management intensity with populations occurring in wild habitats as part of natural forests, but also under silvicultural or in situ management, through which people leave some individuals standing when the forest is cleared, and deliberately propagate agaves in the cleared areas in order to increase their population density ( Torres et al . 2015 b ).…”